Was it me.. or was the store owner rude..

[SaltISlife]

Was i being sensative.. or 2as this store owner rude.. yesturday i was in Nova Tropicals in northern va.. im there all the time.. spent thousands of dollars in that place. Help him alot when hes short staffed.

Usually the owner is always nice. I have no issues doing trades for corals. I bring in orange manderins and trumpets and what not and trade for them. He gets good deals too.. usually i get a 100$ coral for 2-300$ worth of zoanthids. And they sell fast too. I also spent hours of ny own time fragging his corals for him. But latetly i offered to frag a gold hammer colony that hes been bugging me to frag and he said he had no plugs.. yet i saw 3 bags of plugs right on the table. I felt like i was being lied too.. I noticed he does this sometimes latetly. I dunno how to explain it. Its his store he can do whatever but im starting to feel like hes a little sleezy and weird about things.

But yesturday man.. i walk in.. Say Hi Dave, he says nothing. I standing there checking out if anything is nee.. He walks by me 20 times says nothing. Not even hi.

So i decide to leave figured hes busy even though no one was in the store.

So i come back later. Bring a torch coral in and all i said was Hey Dave would you be interested in this torch coral. He didnt even look and starts laughing at me for some reason. Confused at whats funny. I said Yes or no. And he said No.

Before i walk out i told him i didnt appritiate the way he handled that, and i dont know what was funny about my question of being interested in the coral or not but i dont like being laughed at like that.

Maybe its just me.. but didnt that seem a little rude on his part ? Even my girlfriend who was there thought it was rude and mentioned it to his buddy working on the counter before we left.

 

[Simple reef]

If that is not normally how he acts I would chalk it up to something bigger you might not be aware of. I.e. Financial, family, issue that is weighing on him.

 

[austibella]

Was i being sensative.. or 2as this store owner rude.. yesturday i was in Nova Tropicals in northern va.. im there all the time.. spent thousands of dollars in that place. Help him alot when hes short staffed.

Usually the owner is always nice. I have no issues doing trades for corals. I bring in orange manderins and trumpets and what not and trade for them. He gets good deals too.. usually i get a 100$ coral for 2-300$ worth of zoanthids. And they sell fast too. I also spent hours of ny own time fragging his corals for him. But latetly i offered to frag a gold hammer colony that hes been bugging me to frag and he said he had no plugs.. yet i saw 3 bags of plugs right on the table. I felt like i was being lied too.. I noticed he does this sometimes latetly. I dunno how to explain it. Its his store he can do whatever but im starting to feel like hes a little sleezy and weird about things


But yesturday man.. i walk in.. Say Hi Dave, he says nothing. I standing there checking out if anything is nee.. He walks by me 20 times says nothing. Not even hi.

So i decide ti leave figured hes busy even though no one was in the store.

So i come back later. Bring a torch coral in and all i said was Hey Dave would you be interested in this torch coral. He didnt even look and starts laughing at me for some reason. Confused at whats funny. I said Yes or no. And he said No.

Before i walk out i told him i didnt appritiate the way he handled that, and i dont know what was funny about my question of being interested in the coral or not but i dont like being laughed at like that.

Maybe its just me.. but didnt that seem a little rude on his part ? Even my girlfriend who was there thought it was rude and mentioned it to his buddy working on the counter before we left.

Everyone is on edge, he was probably having a really bad day.. between covid, loss of jobs , loss of money and the weather, not to mention the news, it has effected everyone. Especially businesses trying to stay open. I wouldn't have taken it personal..

 

[vetteguy53081]

lack of communication was more fitting.
Sounds weird for having a mutual relationship and what's wrong with " Today is not a good day" OR " You got me at a bad time". A little communication goes a long way. Seems insultive but again, I don't know the guy

 

[DanConnor]

sounds like he's mad at you about something

 

[SaltISlife]

If that is not normally how he acts I would chalk it up to something bigger you might not be aware of. I.e. Financial, family, issue that is weighing on him.

Yea he normally doesnt act like that.. So i was wondering.. was it me did i take too much into it. Or was he really being a jerk. because hes been like this latetly the last few weeks. Almost makes me wanna take a break and not go there for a little bit

 

[X-37B]

Sounds like a personel problem to me.
That is still no way to treat any customer in a retail environment.
Give him a week and if he acts the same and does not want to talk about it take your business elsewhere.

 

[SaltISlife]

Sounds like a personel problem to me.
That is still no way to treat any customer in a retail environment.
Give him a week and if he acts the same and does not want to talk about it take your business elsewhere.

I almost wondering that.. Or maybe financial issues.. i dunno. It is a new store, granted i see more people in that store than any fish store in northern virginia. Its usually packed with people. Last saturday there was a line outside. Lol

But i agree.. with how much i help him and volunteer my time. And not to mention ive spent more there than anyone one person on corals i can garuntee you that. It just seemed really rude to laugh at me. Thats why i paused and was like okay... and said.. Yes or no ? Thats all he had to say... the laugh just struck a nerve in me though like whats so funny about me asking a question.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Well if he wasn’t mad before wait until he see’s this thread.

 

[HB AL]

Yea he normally doesnt act like that.. So i was wondering.. was it me did i take too much into it. Or was he really being a dick.. because hes been like this latetly the last few weeks. Almost makes me wanna take a break and not go there for a little bit

Take your advice and take a break from him and the store. If I was in your position and since you said its been a few weeks hes been acting different towards you, I would ask him what the problem is (if there is one) and how do we rectify it.

 

[saltybees]

 

[SaltISlife]

Well if he wasn’t mad before wait until he see’s this thread.

I could careless if he does. If i did i wouldnt have made the thread.

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Was i being sensative.. or 2as this store owner rude.. yesturday i was in Nova Tropicals in northern va.. im there all the time.. spent thousands of dollars in that place. Help him alot when hes short staffed.

Usually the owner is always nice. I have no issues doing trades for corals. I bring in orange manderins and trumpets and what not and trade for them. He gets good deals too.. usually i get a 100$ coral for 2-300$ worth of zoanthids. And they sell fast too. I also spent hours of ny own time fragging his corals for him. But latetly i offered to frag a gold hammer colony that hes been bugging me to frag and he said he had no plugs.. yet i saw 3 bags of plugs right on the table. I felt like i was being lied too.. I noticed he does this sometimes latetly. I dunno how to explain it. Its his store he can do whatever but im starting to feel like hes a little sleezy and weird about things.

But yesturday man.. i walk in.. Say Hi Dave, he says nothing. I standing there checking out if anything is nee.. He walks by me 20 times says nothing. Not even hi.

So i decide to leave figured hes busy even though no one was in the store.

So i come back later. Bring a torch coral in and all i said was Hey Dave would you be interested in this torch coral. He didnt even look and starts laughing at me for some reason. Confused at whats funny. I said Yes or no. And he said No.

Before i walk out i told him i didnt appritiate the way he handled that, and i dont know what was funny about my question of being interested in the coral or not but i dont like being laughed at like that.

Maybe its just me.. but didnt that seem a little rude on his part ? Even my girlfriend who was there thought it was rude and mentioned it to his buddy working on the counter before we left.

I have been to NOVA Tropicals many times and have always found Dave very friendly and helpful although I was buying almost everything through his store including my Waterbox 220.6 for my tank build at the time. Have never tried to trade with him so can’t speak to that. Was last in there a couple of weeks ago and he seemed normal to me. Your interaction definitely seems out of character in my experience but I would have been annoyed to if it happened to me. I almost wonder if he didn’t understand the question.

 

[JosephM]

I agree with some of the others that mentioned some personal issue. I’ve grown fairly close to the owner of the LFS that I frequent and he’ll straight up tell me when it’s been a long week for him and he’ll go hide in his den (where he does all his photo editing and marketing). I heard you mentioned very busy and that’s what’s been happening at the one I’m talking about and when they’re busy like that they’re getting multiple shipments in a day and that can get very tiring. But as said by others, communication is key. The way he treated you was inappropriate and there’s no looking past that but I wouldn’t take it to heart and maybe give that store a little break.

 

[Jeffcb]

somethings up

 

[mindme]

Was i being sensative.. or 2as this store owner rude.. yesturday i was in Nova Tropicals in northern va.. im there all the time.. spent thousands of dollars in that place. Help him alot when hes short staffed.

Usually the owner is always nice. I have no issues doing trades for corals. I bring in orange manderins and trumpets and what not and trade for them. He gets good deals too.. usually i get a 100$ coral for 2-300$ worth of zoanthids. And they sell fast too. I also spent hours of ny own time fragging his corals for him. But latetly i offered to frag a gold hammer colony that hes been bugging me to frag and he said he had no plugs.. yet i saw 3 bags of plugs right on the table. I felt like i was being lied too.. I noticed he does this sometimes latetly. I dunno how to explain it. Its his store he can do whatever but im starting to feel like hes a little sleezy and weird about things.

But yesturday man.. i walk in.. Say Hi Dave, he says nothing. I standing there checking out if anything is nee.. He walks by me 20 times says nothing. Not even hi.

So i decide to leave figured hes busy even though no one was in the store.

So i come back later. Bring a torch coral in and all i said was Hey Dave would you be interested in this torch coral. He didnt even look and starts laughing at me for some reason. Confused at whats funny. I said Yes or no. And he said No.

Before i walk out i told him i didnt appritiate the way he handled that, and i dont know what was funny about my question of being interested in the coral or not but i dont like being laughed at like that.

Maybe its just me.. but didnt that seem a little rude on his part ? Even my girlfriend who was there thought it was rude and mentioned it to his buddy working on the counter before we left.

I would say yes you are being sensitive. Not to say the other guy is right, but it's like you think you are owed something because you have spent money and time in there.

I don't think I'd have thought much about it. If it's a pattern, then maybe start to question it.

 

[CMMorgan]

sounds like he's mad at you about something

That's the vibe I got, too. Maybe he had an issue with something you previously traded? I mean... the appropriate response is to communicate that professionally but still.
Given the unknown, give him the chance that there may be something much bigger than you happening in his life. Pray over it. Go by another time. If the situation does not improve, get another LFS to trade with you.

 

[Frogspon]

So the big question here before we go any further:

How did you FIRST start helping around the shop? Did he ask, or did you offer and he accepted? Is it free labor or does he pay you in cash, corals/discounts/credit, etc?

 

[lagatbezan]

As a small business owner myself, I always try to stay professional with all my customers even if I don’t like them and never allow something about them to bother me. At the end of the day they are the ones that bring in revenue and help pay the bills and keep the doors open. No reason to hold any grudges or be rude. Even if they don’t buy something today they are potential customers for tomorrow.
I would send him an email telling him how you feel and see if he has an explanation for his behavior and if he offers an apology.
if not, I’m sure there are plenty of other stores that will value your business and I would find another store.

 

[Jekyl]

Was i being sensative.. or 2as this store owner rude.. yesturday i was in Nova Tropicals in northern va.. im there all the time.. spent thousands of dollars in that place. Help him alot when hes short staffed.

Usually the owner is always nice. I have no issues doing trades for corals. I bring in orange manderins and trumpets and what not and trade for them. He gets good deals too.. usually i get a 100$ coral for 2-300$ worth of zoanthids. And they sell fast too. I also spent hours of ny own time fragging his corals for him. But latetly i offered to frag a gold hammer colony that hes been bugging me to frag and he said he had no plugs.. yet i saw 3 bags of plugs right on the table. I felt like i was being lied too.. I noticed he does this sometimes latetly. I dunno how to explain it. Its his store he can do whatever but im starting to feel like hes a little sleezy and weird about things.

But yesturday man.. i walk in.. Say Hi Dave, he says nothing. I standing there checking out if anything is nee.. He walks by me 20 times says nothing. Not even hi.

So i decide to leave figured hes busy even though no one was in the store.

So i come back later. Bring a torch coral in and all i said was Hey Dave would you be interested in this torch coral. He didnt even look and starts laughing at me for some reason. Confused at whats funny. I said Yes or no. And he said No.

Before i walk out i told him i didnt appritiate the way he handled that, and i dont know what was funny about my question of being interested in the coral or not but i dont like being laughed at like that.

Maybe its just me.. but didnt that seem a little rude on his part ? Even my girlfriend who was there thought it was rude and mentioned it to his buddy working on the counter before we left.

Have you been selling frags to people who may have bragged about a cheaper price?